


Gift Giving in C Major

by presidenthomewrecker



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29435949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/presidenthomewrecker/pseuds/presidenthomewrecker
Summary: Shuichi wants to do something special for Kaede's gift this year, but he may have gotten a little in over his head this time.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	Gift Giving in C Major

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for the Danganronpa Valentine's Exchange for jokerfromp5onmicrosoftxbox. I hope you like it!!

Shuichi likes to think of himself as a capable learner.

He reads a lot and he retains information well, and his work as a detective means he’s skilled in connecting dots. Not only that, but he _loves_ to learn. So most things he picks up come to him rather easily, and those that don’t just require a little bit more effort.

But when it comes to music theory, he fears he’s met his match.

He’s not sure what specific part isn’t clicking in his brain, but the more he tries to concentrate on chord progressions and melodies while also making it sound _good_ , the more his brain turns to mush in protest.

Shuichi squints at the paper, trying to make sure the line he just wrote is as cohesive as he thought it was ten minutes ago. So a major first chord can go to a minor third chord, and then to a major fourth chord. And then from there he can go to a minor seventh and back to the first chord? Was that too same-y? Ugh, this is too complicated.

Shuichi isn’t even pretending to look at his reference sheet of non-chord tones. The rules of writing for four parts is enough. And this is just the stuff he _knows_ he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t even want to think about all the stuff he’s unaware of.

Shuichi leans back, hoping that pulling away from the sheet music will make it more comprehensible, but that’s pretty much a lost cause at this point. The song isn’t so much saying “I care for you deeply” as it’s saying “I don’t know the first thing about music and I really overshot my capabilities here.”

His thought process here was simple. Kaede loved music and learning new songs, so he’d write something special just for her. He knew it didn’t have to be good, but even he can tell what he’s writing is a stagnant disaster. Maybe this is the reason why Kaede is the Ultimate Pianist instead of the Ultimate Composer.

The sound of the door opening pulls him from his thoughts, and he jolts to see none other than Kaede walking into the music room.

She doesn’t notice him right away, mainly because she doesn’t expect anyone else to be here. She tells Shuichi all the time that she loves that the music lab is almost always empty because it gives her the freedom to play as badly as she wants. Granted, Shuichi has never seen her play a sour note once, but he supposes the safety net of no one hearing even if she did is what comforts her.

Kaede shrugs off her backpack, leaving it by the door. It’s part of her ritual, so that she doesn’t have any distractions. As she takes out her folder of sheet music, she finally catches sight of her boyfriend at the piano.

“Shuichi? What are you doing in the music room?” She grins, flashing him the sort of smile that makes his heart melt, and trots over. “Not that it’s not a nice surprise, though! I was actually looking for you earlier, but no one had seen you.”

Shuichi’s face goes red. “For me?”

Now it’s Kaede’s turn to blush. “Yeah, actually. Um… I know that Valentine’s Day is actually tomorrow, but I wanted to give you your gift early, if that’s okay.”

“Um…” His eyes drift to the half-finished mess of a composition on the piano bench. At this rate, he doesn’t know if he’ll even be able to finish this by tomorrow. Maybe if he pulls an all-nighter? That and if some emergency case doesn’t pop up.

Looking at Kaede now, his self-confidence goes flying out the window. Why did he ever think making something was a good idea? Maybe if he just cuts his losses and buys her something nice, he can pretend he never bothered.

“I don’t think my gift is ready yet,” he says finally.

Kaede just smiles. “That’s okay! I don’t mind waiting! Unless you wanna wait. That’s okay too!” Her eyes stray to the music visible over his shoulder, and from the way her eyes widen, it’s obvious what he’s up to. “Shuichi, I didn’t know you liked to compose!”

“I don’t know about ‘liking’ it,” Shuichi jokes. He scoots over, making room for her on the piano bench.

Kaede joins him, all mention of her gift for him already forgotten. She can get rather spacey when it comes to music, especially music she hasn’t gotten the chance to play before, so Shuichi isn’t surprised.

Kaede’s eyes scan over the sheet music, her head bobbing to an imaginary metronome. She hums under her breath, making the simple melody line sound better than Shuichi ever could. “Shuichi, it’s wonderful! Can I play it? Please?”

“Sure, go ahead.” After all, what is he going to do? Say no? And if it’s that bad, he can just scrap it and buy her a nice necklace or something.

Kaede bounces in her seat. “Ah, thank you!” She pauses, taking a breath to recenter herself, her fingers finding their natural places on the keys, and launches into the song.

She plays the notes with such confidence, bouncing easily from the chords that had Shuichi stumbling over sections for hours, and to his surprise, it actually sounds kind of _nice_.

Nothing standout, and he definitely wouldn’t be humming it to himself anytime soon, but the chords fit together in the hands of a competent player, making a pleasant, passable noise. There’s still something missing, though. Shuichi can’t describe it, other than saying the chords don’t sound full. And while it bothers him, it’s not like there’s anything he can do about it.

But there’s something else, something more than just the notes, that’s causing his heart to swell. Finally, after searching for tutorials on how to write a melody that conveys love, he can hear it—and in something he wrote, no less.

But it’s not that the song is good.

It’s because Kaede is the one playing it.

“That’s all there is,” Shuichi says as she hesitates on the final incomplete chord. “I haven’t found a way to finish it yet.”

“That’s still amazing progress, though. I can tell you’ve been working hard with it.” Kaede sneaks a peek at Shuichi, her cheeks dusted with a slight pink. “Did you enjoy yourself while making it?”

He wants to say no, but in all fairness, it wasn’t all misery. Instead, it was more like a really difficult puzzle, one that he had to work at all day to bring to this point. And even if it’s not great, he can still feel his own effort when he looks at it, for better or for worse.

“I did actually.”

Kaede grins. “Maybe you can be the Ultimate Composer someday!”

Shuichi snorts. “I doubt it. I don’t think composing is for me.”

“Still, it’s really admirable of you to step out of your comfort zone.” Kaede glances to the side, obviously working up some courage to continue her train of thought. “I’ve actually been working on a new skill too.” Kaede drops her head, speaking with a nervousness Shuichi has never seen from her before. She continues, speaking more to the piano that to him. “Um, I know how much you like mysteries, so I thought I’d try my hand at writing one.”

She bolts out of her seat, scurrying back over to her backpack, and retrieves a small three-ring binder. It has his name, accented with a single heart, written across the cover. She doesn’t hand it to him so much as she pushes it into his hands and lets go like touching it burns her skin.

“It’s not as long as your novels or as good, but I thought you might like it anyway?” Kaede still refuses to look him in the eye, instead fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves. “I can just take you out for a picnic if you want. You don’t have to pretend to like it.”

Shuichi flips open the binder, leafing through the pages. The paragraphs are short, and skimming through it already shows him the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, but none of that matters one bit.

How could it, when Kaede probably put hours into making something special for him?

“I love it,” he says immediately. He doesn’t even have to think about it to know how many times he’ll be rereading this.

Kaede looks up, her face redder than ever. Shuichi doesn’t think she blushed this much during their first date. “Are you sure? Because I can try something else if you don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to! Actually—” Shuichi glances back at his half-finished song, pushing away the thought that his gift still couldn’t compare. “I wrote this song for you.”

“Wha—really?”

Shuichi wonders if his face is as red as hers, because it certainly feels like it. “I know it’s kind of lame, but—”

“Are you kidding? I love it!” Kaede takes the sheet music from its place and holds it to her chest, as if it’s something precious she’s afraid to lose. “Shuichi, this is so perfect.”

“Yours is perfect too,” he answers. “And I promise I’ll finish it up by tonight. I just need a little more time.”

“Do you think that we could finish it together?” Kaede asks, immediately stumbling over her words to add, “We don’t have to, of course—it’s your gift! But maybe it might be nice…?” She trails off.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Shuichi answers. “Maybe I’ll finally be able to finish it!”

Kaede’s shoulders sag with relief. “I’d like that too.”

Before Shuichi can talk himself out of it, he pulls her into a hug. She slots so comfortably against his shoulder that holding her is a natural comfort. And while Kaede isn’t expecting it, she hugs him back with equal ferocity.

“I can’t believe we had the same idea,” Kaede murmurs into his shoulder, a slight giggle in her voice.

“I can’t either,” Shuichi agrees. “I’m happy, though. I really do like the gift.”

Kaede smiles against his shoulder. “Same here.”

Shuichi isn’t sure how long they stay like that, clinging to each other, even as his back begins to ache from standing in one position too long.

All he knows is that there’s no place he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> heyo so i've got a [tumblr](http://president-homewrecker.tumblr.com) you can drop by


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